music as well. With this view in mind, the task of the cognitive neuroscientist is to
delineate the different computations performed within one level of processing, to understand
the mechanisms that underlie these computations, and to localize where in the brain these
mechanisms are implemented. This task is fraught with both philosophical and method-
ological problems,^19 but science is advancing rapidly, and new methods are now available
to track these issues. In the second part of this presentation, we summarize the results of
our research on the comparison between different levels of processing in language and
music. Before going into the details of the experiments, we briefly review the position of
linguistic theories on the question of the specificity of language processing.
Specificity of the computations involved in language processing?
The generative grammar theory
One of the most important claims of the generative grammar (GG) theory is that language
is autonomous from other cognitive functions.4,18,21,33,34Language is considered a compu-
tational module that entails its own functional and neural architecture.^12 Moreover, the
linguistic module comprises different submodules, each responsible for different aspects of
language processing, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Each
submodule is encapsulated,^35 so that the processing of information in a module is per-
formed independently of the processing of information in another submodule.
Phonological processing, for instance, is realized without being influenced by the morpho-
logical, syntactic, semantic, or pragmatic aspects of language processing. Thus, the compu-
tations required to process language are specific to language, and the computations in one
module are performed independently of those in the other modules.
Another basic claim of the GG theory is that languages are defined by their deep syntac-
tic structure: syntax plays a dominant role in the structural organization of language.
Moreover, from a functional perspective, syntax is first.^36 Logico-mathematic computa-
tions are first performed on symbols that have no intrinsic meaning; they only acquire
meaning in a second step. Therefore, the chain of computations necessary to process lan-
guage is considered to be serially and hierarchically organized.
Other linguistic theories
It should be noted, however, that other linguistic theories have been developed in the last
20–30 years that advocate very different views of language structural and functional organ-
ization.22,37Although it is beyond the scope of this presentation to go into the details of these
different linguistic theories, which differ from each other in many respects (functional
grammar,38,39cognitive grammar,40–42and linguistic functional typology43–45), the impor-
tant point is that these theories call into question the two basic claims of the GG theory just
summarized. First, they reject the idea that language is an autonomous function, relying on
its own structural and functional architecture. By contrast, they consider that languages rely
on general cognitive principles, linked with perceptual and sensorimotor motor experi-
ences.46,47Second, they reject the syntacticocentrism of the GG theory and the idea of
the autonomy of syntax relative to phonology, morphology, semantics, and pragmatics.^22
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